With Wellngton aiming to be a bilingual capital city, we already have lots of opportunities to learn te Reo every day! Just be mindful of council notices and newsletters, where Te Reo words are used in a way that makes it easy to understand the meaning of it. Or check out other places where te Reo is used, like your local supermarket, to learn a new word every day!

So for this week, let’s be mindful of Te Reo language and make an effort to learn one new word a day!!!

One Saturday of crochet!! Sign up here:http://www.tawacomed.co.nz/Course,CROCHET-A-day-of-relaxation,3373

Hello again!!

Hope your weekend was good. I had a fun day at a teaching course and got to be in 10 mini lessons about all sorts of great subjects. From pottery to FOI, screen printing, tiny homes, and Arabic to feeding banana to a baby!!

WORKOUT STARTS HERE:

Often our minds are busy, and sitting down for formal meditations might be just too much for us. If so, it can help to give your mind something to focus on, something that also has your interest or is something that makes you feel relaxed. Spring spotting is one of those things!!

Last week I noticed lots of beautiful flowers and it made my walk very relaxing and enjoyable. It also gave my brain a break from planning my courses!!

So this week aim to spot at least 2 signs of spring, every day!! Take a picture of it and let us enjoy them too!

I’m running two CROCHET courses and a MINDFULNESS FOR PARENTS & PRIMARY SCHOOL KIDS this term!

However the only one that still might have some spaces is this: http://www.tawacomed.co.nz/Course,Beginner-Crochet-Wellington,2433

Also COLOURING for adults is this Sunday again at the Tawa Community Centre.

WEEKLY MINDFULNESS WORKOUT:

Mindfulness is bringing your full awareness to the here and now, in a kind, accepting and non judging way. You can use your senses to help you to come back to the present moment. Focussing on sounds is a really easy one that you can practice everywhere!

So this week, take a few moments every day to bring your full attention to what you can hear.

Sounds far away, sounds nearby.

Loud sounds, and quiet sounds.

Don’t look for sounds, just listen.

Do you notice how your mind wants to figure out what the sounds are? Is your mind judging the sounds? It’s totally normally if this happens!

Just bring your attention back to only listening to the sounds you can hear. You can silently label a sound “bird” or “wind”, that’s all you do.

Crafting, crocheting, reading, puzzling etc can help relax your mind, as you’re giving it something to concentrate on, in the here and now.
That way you stop yourself from worrying, and you can break the spiral of feeling anxious, or depressed -> having unhappy thoughts -> not doing the things anymore that you used to do -> feeling more anxious, depressed or unhappy.

So this week find an activity that keeps your mind focussed and try to do this every day. Maybe pick up something you used to enjoy doing, even if you don’t think you’ll enjoy it.
It can be colouring, reading, or jigsaw puzzles, anything!
Yes your attention will wander, that is normal! If you notice this has happened, just kindly bring your attention back to your activity.

My daughter is turning 18 this week, wow! That only shows how time flies by, just like that.

When you practice mindfulness, you try to bring your attention to the here and now.

You stop your mind from being busy thinking about everything that was, and from everything that is coming. You bring your mind to the present, and allow yourself to take in what is here. This helps to really enjoy the moment, as the here and now is really all we have.

So this week, purposefully take a few moments everyday to do this. Bring your mind to the present moment, and take in all that is here.

If you have little children, it’s easy to forget to do this, but you just must. They will grow up so quickly, you want to cherish these moments, so watch them closely, listen and smell, and enjoy that moment to the fullest.

Do you want to do learn some mindfulness and be creative, than let me know as I might start another Tuesday evening class in May!!!

For this week I want you to be a bit more mindful of your selftalk. You know what I mean right?!

We tend to be too harsh and too negative on ourselves and although this is totally normal, we do have to correct ourselves to be nicer.

Imagine how you would speak to your best friend, your child or cousin, or your pet. You have to become your own best friend, able to pick yourself up, acknowledge what you’re feeling and kindly talk yourself through in a kind and accepting way.

Don’t forget you are not what you do, you are born as an amazing miracle and you still are, you have every right to make the best of your life and enjoy to the max!

If you struggle with this, don’t forget I train people in mindfulness on zoom, whatsapp and skype too!! Just pm me and I will try to fit you in asap!

Have a good week!

M

Healthy Mind, Happy Heart

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Have a look at what we have been doing at our All Good Colouring Class yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/easynowmindfulness/videos/1652257438199137/

Tawa All Good Colourers are meeting up again this Sunday, 10-12 at the Tawa Community Centre, you’re welcome to come along too! Bring a friend and have a coffee and a chat and colour away!

One of the most important tools we all have to calm down is our breathing, it’s our anchor through the storms. Make it a habit to bring your attention to your breathing whenever you again, notice if you are breathing into your abdomen and if not, make sure you lower your inbreath, drop your anchor an breathe.

Even if all is going well, it’s a great way to build your resilience, so when the weather does change, you are ready for it!

Yesterday I went to Te Papa for the new Toi Arts exhibition. There is an amazing art installation called Indra’s bow, made by Tiffany Singh, i’s made of lots of spices, gemstones, and other natural materials, and it smells amazing!

Have you seen it???

Practicing mindfulness is easy, you just give your mind something to focus on, that is present in the here and now. You can use your senses for this.

So this week, focus on what you can smell. You will quickly notice that your mind will start to figure out what you are smelling, and it will also judge the smells. This is your brain, trying to protect you from any danger!

Try to ignore this, just go outside for a walk and focus on the things you can smell around you.

Have a great week!

M

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Healthy Mind, Happy Heart

PS Crochet for Relaxation runs again next term at Tawa Community College!!

One of the tips last week was about smiles. It’s been one of the workouts here before too, and it’s a great trick to improve your mood instantly!

So this week, try to put a smile on your face if you’re not feeling to well. Just moving your face and mouth into a smiling pose, will trick the brain that all is well and you will start to feel more positive. If you find this hard to do, just grab a pen and put it between your teeth horizontally!! Ann Grandchamp has a cool video about this!!

If you are smiling easily already, share your smile! Smiling is contagious, so try to smile at others, doesn’t matter if they are strangers, maybe that is exactly what they need! So go and smile!